I really wanted 2 of these dandelion lamps for our bedroom, but at approx. $105 each, I decided to hack 2 IKEA TASSA NATT kid’s wall lamps w/ frogs for $5 each & save myself $200. It is rumored that it’s “Last Chance“. (It has been discontinued.) When I bought mine at my local Seattle IKEA there was no sign saying “Last Chance“.

same lamp/same paper (Light Off)

This hack has been done many times before here & here, however my hack is slightly different. We needed wall lamps that we could wire directly into the wall, not the corded plug-in kind. So we simply cut the cord off & just wired it directly into the wall.

2-Sided Scrapbook Paper

Also the paper I found ($1 ea.) that matched our bedroom colors of (pale) pink & beige, just happened to be 2-sided, creating a cool effect. It’s like having 2-lamps-in-1!

$6 IKEA Lamp Hack

This hack couldn’t be easier.
You will need scissors & maybe tape if you are using fabric instead of decorative paper
1. take lamp apart
2. trace frog paper onto back of decorative paper or fabric
3. cut paper/fabric
4. place paper/fabric on shade & fold over edges (use tape to secure fabric)
5. assemble lamp

I also did the same thing in my laundry room for hanging clothes. The BYGEL rail can w/stand a surprising amount of weight.

3rd IKEA Hack

I happened upon a clearanced IKEA INDEX Curtain Rod for only 99¢. I thought how it’d be great to hang the mosquito netting curtains I had, also from IKEA & keep the mosquitoes out during the summer when we have the doors open all day long. The rod only extended from 16-24″, which wasn’t wide enough to cover the door, but after my hack it now extends from 30-39″.

IKEA Curtain Rod Hack

Mosquito Netting Extendable Curtain Rod

It now hangs from the existing curtain rod during the summer months when it’s needed & gets removed/packed away during the cooler months.

I’ve had my eye on the IKEA MALM full-sized bedframe & matching nightstands for awhile now. Then I discovered the SULTAN ALSARP ‘boxspring’ w/ storage & how it would be great to utilize ALL the space under the mattress. I knew that the full-sized Sultan Alsarp was L: 74 3/8 ” x W: 52 3/4 ” x H: 11 3/4 “, & based on the Malm measurements for Mattress L: 74 3/8 ” x Mattress W: 53 1/8 ” & Footboard H: 11 3/4 “, it looked like it would fit. I just needed to go to IKEA & take a peek under the Malm mattress to see how it was held together & what, if anything, could possibly obstruct the Sultan Alsarp from slipping into the Malm bedframe. Everything looked good. When I told the IKEA employee in the bedroom department what I was doing, he said it wouldn’t work. It turns out the Malm is $10 cheaper w/out the galvanized steel midbeam.

OMGourmet, they were good, so so good!!
Benjamin picked these for his birthday.

I used this recipe, but noticed it needed some improvingVanilla Garlic: Maple Bacon Cupcake Recipe
I made these changes:
-reverse the b. soda & b. powder amounts (1t b.powder & 1/2t b.soda)
-replace the milk w/ buttermilk
-add/mix the maple syrup in the same time as the milk, since they are both liquids
icing changes:
-whatever you do, DON’T use powdered sugar (overly processed/white sugars cheapen the taste & give you a headache). Maple syrup & butter alone are enough. If you like lots of icing, double the butter & maple syrup
-add some Maple Sugar sprinkles on top & half a piece of bacon

Next time you go grocery shopping in San Francisco, you won’t be hearing paper or plastic at the check out. As of this past March, San Francisco is officially the 1st city in the U.S. to ban plastic shopping bags in certain establishments. The city by the Bays Board of Supervisors approved the groundbreaking legislation that would officially ban plastic checkout bags supermarkets by September & pharmacies by early 2008. City officials are optimistic that other U.S. cities including L.A. & NY. will follow suit.

With approximately 180 million plastic bags being distributed to shoppers in San Francisco each year, the bags pose an environmental problem as they are difficult to recycle, & often wind up in trees or bodies of water, where they harm ecosystems & kill marine life not to mention their growing presence in landfills.

Under the new legislation, supermarkets & pharmacies will have to use either compostable bags made from corn starch, or recycled paper. The compostable bags would be easily recyclable through the citys green garbage bin program. The bag ban also represents one of many environmentally-minded measures currently being pushed in San Francisco, including the proposed outlaw of Styrofoam food containers.

Check out these interesting plastic bag statistics, from the S.F. Department of the Environment and Worldwatch Institute, via the San Francisco Chronicle:

180 million: Roughly the number of plastic shopping bags distributed in San Francisco each year.

4 trillion to 5 trillion: Number of nondegradable plastic bags used worldwide annually.